Baren Digest Thursday, 23 August 2001 Volume 16 : Number 1532 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: "JEANNE N CHASE" Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2001 09:49:18 -0400 Subject: [Baren 15479] Crash Just a quick note. My computer crashed, big time. Just got back on line with a new one. If anyone had a message for me, it was lost. Working on my Flora print and it should be finished next week. Hoping to find out more re; the corian for woodblock and wood engraving. Will search it out next week and report back. PS. Bought a Compaq, hope it is a good one. I am certainly not a computer whiz. Jeanne N. ------------------------------ From: "Maria Arango" Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2001 08:05:29 -0700 Subject: [Baren 15480] Corian John, I think you are safe to use Corian, the wood police is on vacation. Corian, for those interested, is a Dupont product. Searching the web will give you local wholesalers/retailers. One source for Corian if anyone is interested: Lone Oak Press 16 Oliver Street Petersham, MA 01366 loneoak@splusnet.com (978) 724-6672 These folk call it "burinblock" and comes mounted on fiberboard. The disadvantage over the "raw" Corian is that you can't engrave both sides, but hey. You can try a block as small as 2" x 3" (adorable little fellows), and they will do custom sizes. I bought 8" x 10" for $23.00, just about a fourth of the price of end-grain maple. Another unexpected source is those pesky art festivals, they have been infiltrated with Corian cutting board dealers. They come real cutely cut in the shape of duckies and silly stuff, also in rectangles. I bought a 12" x 16" cutting board for 'round $35 and both sides can be engraved. If you talk to the nice folk you can get their scraps for free, some as big as 5"x7" (can't beat _that_ price). Sharpen up your burins... Maria <><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Maria Arango Las Vegas, Nevada, USA http://www.1000woodcuts.com maria@mariarango.com <><><><><><><><><><><><><><> ------------------------------ From: "Tyrus Clutter" Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2001 09:31:23 -0600 Subject: [Baren 15481] Re: I wood suggest... Ok, now I have some questions about wood for you experts. I have just been trotting down to Home Depot and buying large planks of Poplar for my pieces thus far. I think I've only done 4 woodcuts so far. When Exchange #10 makes its way onto the site you'll be able to see what that last piece looks like. I guess in some ways you can compare my work to Dan's. It is pretty tight and precise. I think I'm getting pretty good results with the poplar. It is quite easy to carve. I have been leary of trying cherry or maple or anything else which is harder as I thought it would be that much more difficult to carve. Dan makes it sound like cherry cuts like butter (or at least that has been my flawed interpretation). Is it really not as difficult as I am supposing in my mind? I do have a place I go to to get alder for my frames and I'm sure they would be able to get me about anything I want (they'd probably even join larger sizes for me for a fee). One concern I have is the wood grain. I don't sand down my blocks first, so, unless there are tight lines, I get this very fine grain pattern on large areas which I find to be helpful to the final image. How are other woods going to react? I don't want huge open grain areas like you'd see in oak or some other wood. Just interested. I've got several paintings, an installation, some etchings and a couple blocks with the designs on the poplar already to finish before I start too much experimentation. Oh, and classes just started so I'd better teach on occasion now, too. TyRuS ><~><~><~><~><~><~><~><~><~>< Prof. Tyrus Clutter Director of Friesen Art Galleries Dept. of Art & Music Northwest Nazarene University 623 Holly St. Nampa, Idaho 83686 TRClutter@NNU.edu (208) 467-8398 ------------------------------ From: Cucamongie@aol.com Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2001 11:52:50 EDT Subject: [Baren 15482] wood, key block Hi folks, just my 2 cents on a couple of issues, and those who have posted to the contrary, please don't be offended. I have to say, even with its inherent flaws, shina plywood carves very easily and has worked great for me for tiny prints (1") and big prints (around 30"x40") - I guess it mostly depends on your carving style and the types of images you're carving. Sometimes I end up having to clear quite large areas on the big prints, there's no way I'd try to attempt this with cherry wood. - I find I really can get pretty good detail with the shina wood, the trick is to keep your knives sharp and to change to tiny knives if you're making tiny cuts. You also usually don't have to cut that deep into the wood (depending on the structure of the design). Also, as for order of the key block, "traditionally", in hanga, the key block is printed first, but I had at least one hanga instructor who always printed the key block last. Again, whatever works for you, don't be scared off by so-called "rules", if breaking the rule happens to work for you, do it! most importantly, have fun! :) Sarah ------------------------------ From: GWohlken Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2001 12:45:30 -0400 Subject: [Baren 15483] Re: Baren Digest V16 #1531 > > take the text you want to print make a xerox of it transfer it to your block > cut and print looks better that way than any epsion print > > john of the furry press > > ps with plank grain maple with patiance and sharp tools you can cut 10 pt > type > I agree, after seeing your work. I have an unsteady hand, John. I have to work with what's my ability level. > Gayle, have you considered leaving the poster as it is, a work of art, and > placing the info to a side, perhaps on a pad of tear off leaflets. You can > make these yourself, with a bit of cheesecloth, and rubber glue. > Well, that's certainly a different approach, I'd have to rethink my design since all the lettering was planned to scatter around the image. I don't have my image idea worked out yet. I'm not happy with this project. I mean the inspiration for the imagery isn't coming. I've tried several things and don't like how they look on the page. So, who knows. Maybe your idea would be something to try. The only thing is the big hole it would leave in the overall design once all the info pages are gone and there's the big blob left on the poster where it was. It won't go down as a "local-artist- "Gayle- Wohlken- poster" anybody would want to keep :-). Gayle Ohio, USA ------------------------------ From: "Maria Arango" Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2001 09:47:58 -0700 Subject: [Baren 15484] Re: I wood suggest... Sarah, Each his/her own indeed! :-) I just said "I" didn't care for Shina or other soft woods; I knew the defenders of Shina would come out of the--er, wood work. > Is it really not as difficult as I am supposing in my mind? I do > have a place I go to get alder for my frames and I'm sure they > would be able to get me about anything I want (they'd probably > even join larger sizes for me for a fee). Tyrus, No doubt about it, cherry and maple are more difficult to carve than the soft woods. The difference between carving cherry and carving birch (or poplar) is akin to the difference between wood and linoleum. Having said that, sharp knives make any carving job a cinch. The big difference comes in when clearing larger areas, which can be quite a load on the finger joints. Three solutions for achy fingers: invest in larger chisels (up to 3/4"); scroll saw large areas out; purchase a reciprocating carving knife attachment for a rotary tool. Any of those will make quick work out of clearing a large area. To me and me only, there is nothing like cherry, no worries about grain direction, you can cut cross grain and twirl around to with-the-grain and back with no perceptible difference in resistance, no splintering, no "grab" on the knife by the grain. Again, sharp knives are essential, and I do sharpen and hone much more since going to hard woods, but the actual carving degree of difficulty "feels" much the same as with soft woods. Maple is a bit easier to cut and behaves much like cherry. My advice is to try a small block of each and see what happens. > One concern I have is the wood grain. I don't sand down my blocks > first, so, unless there are tight lines, I get this very fine > grain pattern on large areas which I find to be helpful to the > final image. How are other woods going to react? I don't want > huge open grain areas like you'd see in oak or some other wood. Both cherry and maple are very tight grained. This means that you can either let the grain show or not. Easiest way to bring out the grain that I have found is to gently wipe the block with acetone or lacquer thinner; when it dries the grain stands out in the print. If you don't want any grain, just carve the block as it comes. I get cherry blocks planed ready to carve but still sand them to a glassy 600 grit. I can still get the grain to print if I use thinner layer/stiffer ink and smooth paper, as for engraving. The traditional wood in Japanese history is cherry and, as it darkens with age, there is a special beauty in one of those old blackened cherry blocks. I would like to know at what point Shina and cherry plywood became a popular alternative in Japan if anyone knows the answer; just curious. Maria ------------------------------ From: Shireen Holman Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2001 17:00:28 -0400 Subject: [Baren 15485] Re: Whelan press Thanks, Jim! At 08:03 PM 8/21/01 -0600, you wrote: >The print quality from the Whelan was good, i had no complaints about the >prints. And I do think that for one person it would be a fine press. When I >said that the press would be good for someone who doesn't print that often, >i was thinking about the physical labor of that press--it would be >exhausting to print on it 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. Shireen Holman, Printmaker and Book Artist ------------------------------ From: "eli griggs" Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2001 20:57:54 -0400 Subject: [Baren 15486] Re: Baren Digest V16 #1531 Hi there: Gayle wrote: The only thing is the big hole it would leave in the overall design once all the info pages are gone and there's the big blob left on the poster where it was. It won't go down as a "local-artist- "Gayle- Wohlken- poster" anybody would want to keep :-). Gayle, if you were able to scan to scale, that section of your art, over which you mount or cover the pad, you could then print a ghost or 'watermark' image onto the information pages. You might have to run the pages through the printer twice, once of the image, again for the lettering, but when the pad is gone, no hole. Cheers, Eli ------------------------------ From: "April Vollmer" Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2001 21:37:17 -0400 Subject: [Baren 15487] Graham Pigments Eli, that Graham Company website http://www.mgraham.com/html/tecnical.htm is terrific! I made a copy for reference, one of the best things about moku hanga is that you can use pigment directly. I have been stirring in gum arabic to my pigment dispersions. I am still unclear whether that is enough, since I think watercolor makers grind the pigment with the binder so it coats each pigment particle. I just mix it up. Doesn't need honey (as Graham uses) since I apply it wet. Any ideas? Plain pigment seems to stick in the fibers of washi without any binder. And yes, the tinting strength is a factor for moku hanga, I try to stay away from pthalos for example, they are so strong, they get all over the place and really dominate. The stronger a color is, the harder it is to get the right amount on your block. Since it is such a tiny amount you have to be very accurate. And Maria, thanks for the wood tips, I have some cherry, I will give it a try. I have carved clear basswood, which is much nicer than plywood, though similar softness. best, April www.aprilvollmer.com ------------------------------ From: Bossbumpy@aol.com Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2001 21:42:29 EDT Subject: [Baren 15488] Re: Corian For all Corian lovers, a free source is your local cabinet maker, Corian dealer or Corian subcontractor. Check the yellow pages and find your neighborhood Corian guys. Drop in on their top shop, ask if they mind you digging through their dumpster for any of their Corian scraps, and you''ll likely find as much as you can dream about. That material easily joins together with a special glue. There are also other manufacturers of similar man-made material that have other trade names. Tim Scott ------------------------------ From: FurryPressII@aol.com Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2001 07:20:48 EDT Subject: [Baren 15489] Re: wood, key block a mallet and a wood carveing gouge clears out any size space in maple or cherry unless your spose yells at you for the "foricating" wood chips. It is easier to clear than plywood no pesky glue to contend with. Maria i like wood better than corian in generial but i want to engrave larger than 10 by 12 inches and the corian will be the only way i can do it. Plank grain hard maple almost givers the detail of end grain maple thats a big almost. As in all things each matrix works better for some things but i don't think any one (except boxwood furry is dreaming) will do every thing better. i got my corian in 12 by 30 inch pieces it is just sitting there dareing me to engrave it. Sort of like the big guy on the block YOU ARE GOING TO CUT ME!!!!! a ten by twelve inch wood engraveing block costs about 55 dollers and corian sales for 30 a sq foot neather are cheap as plank grain but ....... i saw a nice use of a piece of plywood printed intaligo. there are many different ways to skin the printmaking cat. john of the furry press ------------------------------ From: Daniel Dew Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2001 08:57:54 -0400 Subject: [Baren 15490] Odd One I don't remember asking, but I was recently added to an interesting search engine for FREE. Check it out. http://www.yourartlinks.com/links/themeindex.html dan dew ------------------------------ End of Baren Digest V16 #1532 *****************************